Partitions for drawers and the like



July 23, 1957 D. G. KIRK 2,800,223

PARTITIONS FOR DRAWERS AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 26. 1953 Rim III/ll I/l'll/Il I INVENTOR. Dorothy 6. Kirk r BY 4FIG.5 v f (4 M ATTORNEYS United States Patent PARTITIONS FORiDRAW ERS AND THE LIKE Dorothy G. Kirk, Colorado Springs, Colo.; now by change of name Dorothy G. Firlit Application January 26, 1953, Serial No. 333,195 2 Claims. (01. 206-46) This invention relates to partitions for drawers and the like.

Among the objects of this invention :are to provide a novel partition for drawers and the like; to provide such a partition which is readily attached to and detached from a drawer; to provide such a partition which will accommodate differences in dimensions, within reasonable limits, of various drawers; to provide such a partition which will provide a desired -shape;.to provide such a partition which may be placed in an upright position in the drawer and will tend to .remain in an upright position; to provide such a partition which may be utilized in conjunction with one or more similar partitions to provide a plurality of compartments in a drawer; to .provide such a partition which may be reinforced and also thereby provided with a decorative eifect; to provide such a partition which may be compressed into a relatively small assembly for packaging and similar purposes; and to'provide such apartition which is readily made from inexpensive materials.

Additional objects and the novel features of this invention will become apparent from the description which follows, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top .plan view of a drawer in which is installed a partition constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view, with the thickness of :the partition exaggerated in order to illustrate the par-tition more clearly, the partition extending between two side walls of a drawer and the latter being shown fragmentarily;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken along line 3-3 of Fig. -1, shown on a slightly enlarged scale and with the thickness of the partition exaggerated;

Fig. 4 is an end view, on an enlarged scale, of the partition of Fig. '2 compressed to form an assembly for packaging and similar purposes;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view, on a reduced scale, of a drawer having a plurality of partitions installed therein; and

Fig. 6 is an oblique sectional perspective view, taken along line .6-6 of Fig. 5, shown on an enlarged scale and with the thickness ofth e partitions exaggerated for clarity of illustration.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, a partition P or P, constructed in accordance with this invention, may comprise an elongated strip of an inexpensive materiaL such as a reasonably good grade of cardboard on the order of 0.004 to 0.015 inch thick and having a width preferably less than the inside height of the drawer in which it isto be placed. Material other than cardboard may,-of course, be utilized, although the stifliness of cardboard is desirable. The strip is provided with longitudinally spaced, transverse folds 10 with adjacent folds facing in opposite directions, to term a plurality of sections 11, which-are preferably equal in length. As will be evident, the strip folds provide an accordion-like configuration, so that the 2,800,223 Patented July 23, 1957 strip may be. stretched across a drawer, preferably being placed on edge, and will accommodate variations in the width or length of the drawer. The configurations of the strip also tend to support the .strip in upright position on the bottom of the drawer. Thus, the partition P of Figs. 1 and 3 is shown stretched between and attached to theend walls 12 and 12' of a drawer, while the .partition P of Fig. 2 is shown stretched between and .attached to the side Walls 13 and 1.3 of a drawer, each strip resting on the bottom 14 of the drawer, as in Fig. 3.. In addition to the sections 11, the strip may also include a section 15 at one end and a section 16 .at the opposite end, each of which is longer than the intermediate sections 11, for a purpose to be described later. The ends of the strip are attached to the drawer walls by a thumb tack or the like, such as the thumb tacks 17 of Fig. 3, which may be readily placed in position or removed, for attaching or removing the partition in the drawer. The thumb tacks 17 extend through a pair of tabs 18 and 19 atone end of the strip, and a pair-of tabs 20 and 21 at the opposite .end, the formation of the tabs preferably being the same for each partition, but are shown as different at the opposite ends of the strip P of Fig. 2, to illustrate a variation therein. .Thus, the tab 18 of'Fig. 2 is integral with the strip forming the sections 10 and 15, and is provided by a fold .22 spaced from the end of. the strip. A short strip 23 is attached to the side of section 15 opposite the direction in which tab 18 extends,.the short strip 23 being provided with a fold 24 at the position of told 22, so that the remainder of the strip 23 will form the'tab 19. Thus, the tabs 18 and 19 areadapted to extend iniopposfie directions, i. e. substantially-perpendicularly to the general longitudinal direction of the strip forming the sections 11, and the thumb tacks 17 are inserted through the tabs 18 and 19. At the opposite end of the strip, the tabs 20 and 21 may be formed by short strips 25, attached to opposite sides of the section 16 and provided with folds 26 at the same longitudinal position, so that the tabs 20 and 21 may extend in opposite directions for insertion of the thumb tacks '17. The tabs 18 and 19 of Fig. .3 are also shown as formed by short strips 25 attached to opposite sides of section 16 in Fig. 3.

The sections 15 and 16, or the attached portions of the short strips forming the attaching tabs, are preferably longer than the sections "10, topermit the strip to be compressed or folded into a compact assembly for packaging and similar purposes. Thus, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the sections 11 may be compressed together so that the edges of the alternate folds 10 will be in alignment. Also, one tab at each end, such as tabs 18 and 20, are bent down against the sections 15 and 16 respectively, while the opposite tab at each end, such .as the tabs 19 and :21, are folded over ,thecompressed sections, so as to extend toward each other and with one above the other in overlapping relation This compact assembly may be secured by 'a retaining member 28, such as a rubber band. As will be evident, with 'the substantially rectangular cross section formed. by the assembly of Fig. 4, a plurality of drawerpartitions maybe packed neatly in a relatively small space. Also the folds 10 are disposed in arelativelyprotected position, with consequent less probability of damage thereto during packaging, shipment or. handling. A plurality of "partitions may be placed in a drawer to provide a pluralit-y of compartments, 'such as shown in Fig. 5 in which partition P extends lengthwise of 'the drawer and partitionsF-extend across'the drawer. The partitions! and P' may be constructed in themanner previously described in connection with Figs. 1 3, except that they are provided with slots at the point of crossing. Thus, as in Fig. 6, partition P may be provided with a slot 30 and partition P with a slot 31, the positions of the slots or the partitions being reversed so that the partitions will interfit. As will be evident, the slots 30 and 31 preferably each extend a distance equal to or slightly greater than the width of the partitions. Slot 30 in partition P may be placed at a fold 10, while slots .31 in partitions P may be placed at the center of a section 11, but the position of the slots may be varied in accordance with the desired position of the partition. The partitions i and P may also be provided with reinforcing and decorative strips of tape 32, preferably disposed adjacent each edge of the partition on each side and extending longitudinally across all of the sections 10, and 16, and also, if desired, across the surface of the tabs 13-21 which will be exposed tov view when the partition is installed in a drawer. The tapes 32 may be made of fabric, plastic or any other suitable material and may be attached to the partitions by a suitable adhesive, such as the adhesive utilized in attaching strips 23 and 24 to the elongated strips forming the sections 11 of the partition.

The slots and 31 may be cut in the strips by the user,'or by the manufacturer. Also, the cardboard strips of which the partitions are made may be any desired color, or a decorative pattern may be printed thereon, While the tapes 32 may be a similar or contrasting color to add to the decorative effect.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the drawer partition of this invention fulfills to a marked degree the requirements and objects hereinbefore set forth. The corrugations or accordion-like effect obtained by the alternate folds permits each specific length of partition to be stretched to a greater range of length, so as to accommodate different sizes ofdrawers, while the corrugations also permit a slight displacement of the partition, as by an overload of stockings, handkerchiefs, etc; on one side or the other. As will be evident, the partitions may be made in several ,difierent lengths and widths, to accommodate the various sizes of drawers normally in use. The partitions are readily attached to the opposite walls of a drawer, and are also readily detached therefrom and shifted in position, although the strip need not be stretched across a drawer in a direction transverse to a side or end wall, since the strip maybe stretched obliquely across a drawer, or attached to one end wall and one side wall, or both ends to the same end wall or side Wall, to enclose a space of a desired shape, such as'rectangular, semi-circular, semi-oval, orthe like. The tabs maybe attached to a wall of a wooden drawer by thumb tacks,

as indicated, but the tabs may be provided with an adhesive which by dampening may be attached to a drawer wall of wood, metal, fiber or other material. The tabs may be provided with a so-called tacky adhesive which does not require wetting, or separate strips of material provided on the underside with a so-called tacky adhesive may be used in attaching the tabs to a drawer wall. Being made of cardboardor other suitable material, such as plastic, which are relatively inexpensive, the partitions are economical to produce. The strips may be water proofed, if not already so, to provide longer service and readier cleaning.

As will be evident, the operations involved in making the partitions are relatively simple, and the addition of colored tapes does not unduly increase the cost. Also, when reinforcing tapes are attached to the strips, in the manner described, the tendency for the strip to wear through at any particular fold which-may receive more wear than other folds is decreased. The laterally extending tabs at each end permit the partition to be installed in a drawer readily and increase stability after installation. The preferred provision of slightlylonger sections at the ends of the strip, adjacent the tabs, permits the strip to be folded into a compactassembly, which is readily retained in position by a simple retaining member and occupies a comparatively small space, thus contributing particularly to the ease of packaging, shipment and handling.

Although certain specific embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and described and variations indicated, it will be understood that other embodiments may exist and various changes made therein, all without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is: i

1. A partition for a drawer and the like, comprising an elongated strip of cardboard like material having a width less than the height of a drawer in which it is' to be placed and provided with longitudinally spaced transverse folds with adjacent folds bent in opposite directions, so as to provide an accordion-like configuration so that said strip maybe placed on edge and stretched across a drawer, sm'd folds being substantially equally spaced to provide a plurality of substantially equal sections except the last section adjacent each end which has a greater length than the intermediate sections, said strip being provided with a pair of tabs at each end extending in opposite directions and movable to positions substantially transverse to the general longitudinal direction of said strip when stretched across .a drawer and said tabs thereby being attachable to a drawer wall by thurn b tacks and the like, said elongated stripbeing compressed to position said sections together with the edges of alternate folds in alignment,.the first of said tabs at each end being folded against the last section and the second tab at each end being. folded over the-compressed sections, so as to provide a compressed assembly with said second tabs in overlapping relation; and a retaining member holding said assembly in compressed position.

2. A partition for a drawer and the like, comprising an elongated strip provided IWith longitudinally spaced transverse folds "with adjacent foldsbent in opposite directions, so as to provide an accordion-like configuration so that said strip may be placed on edge and stretched across a drawer, said'folds providing a plurality of sections and said strip being provided with a pair of tabs at each end extending in opposite directions and movable to positions substantially transverse to the general longitudinal direction of said strip when stretched across a drawer and said tabs thereby being attachable to a drawer wall by thumb tacks and the like, said elongated strip being compressed to position said sections together, the first of said tabs at each end being folded against said sections and the second tab at each end being folded over the compressed sections, so as to pro- .vide a compressed assembly with said second tabs in overlapping relation; and a retaining member holding said assembly in compressed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 9, 1944 

